Dangnabbit Cpt. Scarlet & Fodera!!!

this week, Cpt. Scarlet and i got together to jam around a little with a good drum friend of mine. well, i got there very late, so we only had a little over an hour to really do anything.

i actually played guitar thru the jam, but then, the good Cpt. had to pull out his gorgeously understated Fodera fretless 5.

now, mind you, most Fodie's i see are kinda wacky with the crazy tops and what not, but his was stately in its gently rolling waves of quilt in its naturally patina'd honeyburst. the ebony board had lines, which isnt my cup of tea, but still inviting nonetheless.

then i had to go and do a silly thing and ask to play it. bad move! holy smack, what a gorgeous sounding instrument!

the tones were just off the scale. fat, punchie, and yet hiiiiiiifi. didnt have too much "mwah", but just enough growl in the lower mids, where i like it the most.

most fretless basses are too bright and clacky to me, with the "mwah" in the upper registers, where its just tooooo dang annoying, but Cpt's was simply perfect. his fretless Fodie has exactly the fretless tones i was hearing in my heads. it was a fretless i might actually call my no.1, if i did in fact own it!

so, this is a warning to all y'all with fretless Fodera's. dont come near me, or be liable to have it snatched from you, as i run my dangest away from you.

but dont worry. for now, i'm contemplating when i can try out this beaut.

Hey, joker, we could always swap fretless basses for a week or two. I'd love to test out your Roscoe through my rig. Of course, this arrangement will only be temporary.

I really like the Fodera's understated looks - simple but still elegant. I happen to like the lined board - definitely not as cool looking and intimidating as an unlined board, but it helps my intonation.

Dang, that Fodera single pickup SC is pretty, but it's quite a beast and not my cup of tea. The 36" scale is not my thing either - the extra finger stretches needed to play fretless are bad enough, but combine that with the longer scale and you've got a real challenge. That's not too far away from upright scale. Still, I'm sure it sounds great. Check it out and give us a report.

but didnt have time to call nor ask. but daggitt, i'd much rather go on the "semi-pernament" trade offer from the good Cpt.

still, i've been trawling ebay, bassgear, and all the shops i can think of to find anything similar, and yet to no avail.

so far, that presentation 6 is still calling out to me. it is a longer scale, but as long as the action is low enough for me, it doesnt really phase my playing. besides, i love how the longer scale gives a punchier, stouter sound on fretless basses. my only concern is the lack of a neck pickup. i rarely use primarily the bridge, and its the sound of the two together that's more my sound.

unfortunately, i've already spent a boat load on a new boutique guitar amp and cab, so i dont wanna go overboard. still, when i'm done with my current sell off, that Fodie's definitely in line.